Water is becoming an increasingly valuable and scarce commodity both in the United States and abroad. In particular, extreme drought conditions are common in arid regions such as the desert southwestern United States, although a decreased level of precipitation and resulting low water supplies can occur just about anywhere at various times. To compound matters, substantial amounts of water are squandered due to inefficient and ineffective conventional irrigation systems, for a variety of reasons.
For example, typical irrigation units distribute water in a full round, half-round, quarter-round or an adjustable-type circular pattern. Thus, no matter how the irrigation units are arranged, obtaining consistent water coverage over a rectangular watering area is difficult or impossible. Watering normally occurs to prevent brown spots, resulting in overwatering in basically all other areas. In fact, in order to ensure that all areas are adequately irrigated, overlapping spray regions occur, which can result in certain areas receiving 300% or more of the necessary amount of water.
Further, runoff from elevated areas such as mounds, slopes or hills causes ponding in lower areas, which can ultimately result in the higher areas absorbing an insufficient amount of water, while the lower areas are being saturated with water. Thus, watering occurs indiscriminately whether certain areas of the ground are wet or dry. In addition, in hot, windy conditions, water has a higher evaporation rate and may not actually reach the ground in the intended location, if at all. Moreover, different types of grass, trees or other foliage require varying levels of irrigation. These problems are exacerbated when the watering area is irregularly-shaped and includes areas that do not require water, such as walkways, driveways, fountains, ponds or other surfaces or features.
Consequently, a significant quantity of water is routinely wasted, resulting in higher water bills and lower reservoirs. Further, the cost for pumping large amounts of water can result in increasingly high electrical expenses. In large turf areas, such as on golf courses, excessive and inefficient watering can give rise to enormous costs to the owner, thereby making maintaining a lush, green golf course prohibitive.
Further, turf and soil maintenance is significantly increased due to the deposits of minerals, chemicals and salts that are left in the soil from irrigation. This is particularly a problem where reclaimed water having a high total dissolved solids (TDS) content is used for irrigation. These minerals, chemicals and salts can reduce absorption of the water into the soil, can change the pH of the soil, and/or can make the soil excessively salty, inhibiting growth of vegetation in the soil.